My mother is untrainable. At least, as far as voicemail is concerned. We'd repeat the same song and dance over and over. Me: Stop leaving me voicemails. Her: I don't understand. This went on for years, until I figured out she was right all along. »10/14/14 10:33am 10/14/14 10:33am

Google Voice is a great way to archive voicemail messages, but you must manually download the messages if you want to keep them long-term. Instead, try automatically saving them to your Google Drive. »7/13/14 11:00am 7/13/14 11:00am

Google Voice made Voicemail access a little more secure today, now requiring that you call your voicemail from a phone you registered with Google Voice. If you don't, you'll have to type in one of the registered numbers. You can also create a PIN lock that is up to 10 digits long. Read more here. »9/16/13 4:44pm 9/16/13 4:44pm

Once you delete a voicemail on your iPhone, it isn't gone forever. Depending on your carrier, you can still retrieve it for a few days (more or less). You just need to know where to look. »11/13/12 2:30pm 11/13/12 2:30pm

The next time you make a phone call and are greeted with a machine (voicemail or automated phone system) instead of a person, save some time and get straight to your message or the extension you need to dial with these simple phone tips. »11/09/12 8:00am 11/09/12 8:00am

Ever had that terrible moment when you realize, halfway through leaving a message, that you said something horribly stupid? This is a big bummer when you're trying to leave an important message, but as CNET reminds us, most cell phone carriers allow you to back out and rerecord messages. »8/28/12 5:30am 8/28/12 5:30am

Google Voice, among other services, provides a free phone number and voicemail services which is great if you need them for making/receiving calls and messages. Even if you don't, there are still plenty of creative and unusual uses for a free voicemail account. Here are some of our favorites. »1/09/12 12:30pm 1/09/12 12:30pm

It's become a mantra of tech-involved 20- and 30-somethings (and even teenagers) that you should only call when it's an emergency, otherwise texting is preferred. But what about voicemails? Even with Google Voice transcribing them, and iPhones making them terribly easy to find and listen to, should you ever leave one? »9/29/11 1:30pm 9/29/11 1:30pm

New web service Protocol.by helps you generate email signatures that link to your account at the service, and that contain the information your email recipients need to best contact you, and the order in which they should try. »9/13/11 5:30am 9/13/11 5:30am

You can reach Alan Henry, the author of this post, at , or better yet, follow him on or .

Android: Even if you're on the Do Not Call list, you may still get frequent calls from businesses with your number or friends or family that won't leave you alone. Call Filter is an Android app that lets you selectively block calls from numbers you don't want to see, or block all numbers that aren't in your contact… »8/18/11 1:00pm 8/18/11 1:00pm

iOS: Google may have their own official Voice app in the App Store now, but you'd be hard-pressed to find a better app than the original GV Mobile+. Today's update adds push notifications, a redesigned interface, and even multimedia messaging. »3/25/11 4:00pm 3/25/11 4:00pm

You can contact Whitson Gordon, the author of this post, at . You can…

Android/iOS: If having your voicemail transcribed, emailed, and available for visual review is the most appealing aspect of Google Voice, you might consider Yap Voicemail. It's free on Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile, it might do speech-to-text better than Google Voice, and pretty much anyone can set it up in 2 minutes. »3/23/11 6:00am 3/23/11 6:00am

The Google Voice app is pre-installed on most new Android phones, and by setting it up, you're getting pretty tight phone and SMS integration. But you can get more from Voice with some clever shortcuts, widgets, and contact tweaks. »3/04/11 9:00am 3/04/11 9:00am

That's our best advice on getting even more from the AndroVoice setup.…

Just because you don't have a smartphone doesn't mean you can't take advantage of Google Voice. Here's how to tweak your phone and Google Voice settings to (almost) perfectly integrate Google's service with your device. »3/04/11 9:00am 3/04/11 9:00am

Integrating Google Voice with your current phone is easily one of the best and coolest ways you can get more from your gear—whether you've got a phone with an official Google Voice app or not. »3/04/11 9:00am 3/04/11 9:00am